Perry who used to be a Dem, now as a Republican shows he was/is in favor of Hillary-care...can we truly trust his proclaimed pedigree of conservatism? Is Perry just another establishment GOP RINO in conservative clothing?
I for one don't trust him any further than I could throw him.
Eddie Haskell.
Yeah, well the many many Americans watched Reagan jump in with both feed for FDR’s New Deal, only to realize it extended the depression. I susupect Rick Perry’s awakening conversion was just as strong or stronger.
He has a 10 year record on good governance, low taxes, low regulations and job growth. Cherry picking the warts doesn’t counter act a record that shows a blueprint for national economic recovery.
I am not a big Perry fan, but he has been governor of my state for over two terms now. Even though I disagree with aspects of his record as Governor, the premise of the article is absurd. Perry’s views are quite different from those he held 20 years ago. He isn’t a RINO. He has been inconsistently conservative, but predominantly conservative nevertheless. He has been excellent on life issues, and he has in word and deed been trending more conservative.
I support Bachmann, but much of what is being said about Perry on FR is distorted, unbalanced, and, in some cases, deranged.
Perry and Hillarycare? Four words. Tort reform in Texas. Perry has done more to protect doctors and traditional health care in Texas with tort reform than any previous governor. Just ask the personal injury trial lawyers in Texas.
Who is “Mark America” and why do I care what he thinks?
I don’t find his analysis compelling.
I think the article reads waaaaay too much into the letter. It does not say that Perry supports what the task force ultimately decided to propose. It merely says that the idea of reforming health care is laudable. A lot of people agree with that (although admittedly I’m not one of them).
IMO the real point of the letter starts in the second paragraph: a request that special attention be paid to farmers and rural areas.
I have my doubts Perry initiated this by himself. That said, he is responsible for what goes out under his signature. But this does not convince me that he is insincere. Every politician has written letters like this one.
What a bunch of BS. Reagan was once a Democrat. Perry was AG Commissioner when he wrote Hillary and had no idea what was in her Health Care plans. He just asked her to consider needs of Farmers and Ranchers. Perry must have a lot of people worried, because they are coming out of the woodwork attacking him.
It took him 5 paragraphs to get to this, which is the fatal flaw in his argument. The letter does NOT indicate a lack of conservative thought. The letter is a boilerplate letter from a state government official to a federal official, with the prefunctory well-wishes followed by a stern statement of what that panel needs to do to get support from the state.
"We are so happy to see you tackle the difficult problem of XXX. When you are doing so, we hope you will remember not to screw over our constituents, to take our needs into account, and not make a mess of things. Again, thank you for what we are sure will be your thoughtful consideration to reach an outcome that is good for us all".
I write these letters to my democrat senators and representatives all the time. It is what gets your letters read past the 1st sentence.
Perry's letter NEVER says a good word about "Hillarycare"; it was written before her health panel started writing the plan, and was an attempt to shape the plan.
That is the job of a public official, writing official letters in support of the people of Texas.
Perry’s main problem is the haters who have to cut him down for made-up reasons and ulterior motives. I think he has some flaws, too wedded to government and international power brokers (e.g. Khan). But no real show stoppers IMO.
Perry needs a little vetting. We don’t need another Republican for party’s sake. The only thing that is going to rescue this country from the abyss is conservatism and smaller government.
Hillary Clinton’s healthcare plan of 1993. In a letter to Mrs. Clinton, then Agriculture Commissioner expressed support for the ill-fated overhaul plan. Many are inclined to ignore this because in addition to being an eighteen year old letter, everybody knows Rick Perry had been a Democrat before becoming a Republican, so the thinking is that this should present no problem. Unfortunately, Rick Perry had already changed parties in order to run for the post as Agriculture Commissioner, the post in which he served at the time of the letter.
*ping*
BULL.
As Texas Agriculture Commissioner, Perry wrote on April 6, 1993, to ask Hillary to keep the challenges to rural communities, farmers and ranchers in mind as the task force developed ideas on healthcare reform.
That was just two months after Clinton took office, 6 months before Hillary's congressional testimony and 8 months before a bill was introduced.
Anyone can read the letter.
He was doing the duty of the office to which he was elected. It was not advocacy or praise for what came out of the task force or the legislation in congress.
It has always been my experience that a leopard cannot change its spots.
Being an ex Democrat from my days at a major university and supporting Stevenson, I share a conversion experience. Mine wasn’t because some politician excited me but rather because I became aware of what the different political groups were promoting. It was easy for me to reject ideas and people who believed that they had some extraordinary insight to decide how much of my labor should be for me and how much should be for ‘the general welfare’. The comments on Perry should be given serious analysis as to validity. Right now I see/hear Perry really talking my talk, but I also wonder how long will the walk be for the talk considering his past political baggage. I guess I would feel much better if in his talking he would openly and candidly note his current positions on some issues as opposed to previously held positions where there are questions as to which he would still favor.
